November 16, 2020
Biochar — a charcoal-like substance made primarily from agricultural waste products — holds promise for removing emerging contaminants such as pharmaceuticals from treated wastewater. That’s the conclusion of a team of researchers that conducted a novel study.
November 16, 2020
Dairy cows, exposed to drinking water contaminated with heavy metals for a few years, carry more pathogens loaded with antimicrobial-resistance genes able to tolerate and survive various antibiotics. That’s the finding of a team of researchers that conducted a study of two dairy herds in Brazil four years after a dam holding mining waste ruptured, and it spotlights a threat to human health, the researchers contend.
November 13, 2020
While women represent a significant portion of the global agricultural workforce, they face many roadblocks to success, including limited access to land, technological advancements, education and financing. These barriers, and ways to overcome them, are explored in a new publication, “Routledge Handbook of Gender and Agriculture,” co-edited by faculty in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.
November 12, 2020
The Food Science Club and the Penn State chapter of Phi Tau Sigma launched a buddy program this fall, a virtual platform for undergraduate and graduate students to connect, interact and gain professional development skills during the academic year.
November 12, 2020
Changes in how consumers locate and buy their food will be the subject of a web-based seminar hosted by Penn State Extension at noon on Nov. 18.
November 12, 2020
Organizers of the Ag Live Tailgate, the annual four-day reunion and charity event hosted by Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences Alumni Society, are not allowing its signature gathering to be sidelined by the coronavirus pandemic.
November 11, 2020
Self-reports of smell and taste changes provide earlier markers of the spread of infection of SARS-CoV-2 than current governmental indicators, according to an international team of researchers. The researchers also observed a decline in self-reports of smell and taste changes as early as five days after lockdown enforcement, with faster declines reported in countries that adopted the most stringent lockdown measures.
November 10, 2020
The Arboretum at Penn State has been recognized as one of three “Great Places in Pennsylvania for 2020” by the state chapter of the American Planning Association. "Great Places" have a sustainable vision for the future and serve as a model for other communities, according to the association.
November 10, 2020
Penn State’s 28th annual National Symposium on Family Issues was recently held focusing on the causes and consequences of parent-child separations. For the first time ever, the event was held virtually, but that didn’t deter experts around the nation from participating and offering their diverse research on the subject.
November 9, 2020
Gold foil, ornate labels and an intriguing backstory are product characteristics highly desired by premium chocolate consumers, according to research conducted by food scientists in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.
November 9, 2020
Similar to bacteria evolving resistance to antibiotics, viruses can evolve resistance to vaccines, and the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 could undermine the effectiveness of vaccines that are currently under development, according to a paper published Nov. 9 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by David Kennedy and Andrew Read from Penn State. The authors also offer recommendations to vaccine developers for minimizing the likelihood of this outcome.
November 9, 2020
In August, Penn State Extension (in the College of Agricultural Sciences) partnered with the Global Give Back Circle (GGBC), an organization focused on providing education and mentorship opportunities to young women in five African nations. Global Give Back Circle “leverage[s] the time and talent of women globally, through a Mentorship Program designed to help at-risk girls continue their education and embrace economic freedom,” according to their website.
November 5, 2020
The Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences Society in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences fosters and promotes the agricultural sciences and related fields in a positive manner among multicultural groups.
November 5, 2020
A Penn State Extension curriculum designed to help youth agriculturists protect water quality by better managing manure recently received a 2020 Governor's Award for Environmental Excellence.
November 5, 2020
Sixteen students from Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences will hone their leadership skills by attending the annual Agricultural Future of America Leaders Conference, which is being held virtually Nov. 11-14.
November 4, 2020
In the world of the spotted lanternfly, autumn cues egg-laying season, which leads homeowners perturbed by the pest to ponder, “What should I do about egg masses?” The answer, in short, is to “scrape, smash and squash.” But new research also suggests that several oil-based insecticides can be effective in destroying egg masses when applied in the weeks before egg hatch.
October 30, 2020
Faculty in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences are part of a multidisciplinary, multi-institution research team that was recently awarded the National Excellence in Multistate Research Award from the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities and the United States Department of Agriculture.
October 29, 2020
The Penn State community is mourning the loss of Philip Keeney, professor emeritus of food science, who died Oct. 17 at the age of 95. Intimately linked with the Department of Food Science since he helped to establish it in 1975, Keeney perhaps was best known for his research and teaching related to ice cream
October 29, 2020
In response to complaints about misleading packaging and fraudulent behavior by some producers of bagged landscaping mulch, Penn State researchers conducted an investigation and devised a process to determine the wood species included in the products, and at what percentage.
October 27, 2020
The idea that dead trees would be needed among the acres of lush greenery and living color in The Arboretum at Penn State may be counterintuitive, but the unique forest “snag” is an element needed to attract as wide a variety of birds as possible to the Arboretum's new Pollinator and Bird Garden. The two tall, cut pine trees were installed Oct. 27.
October 27, 2020
Adele Turzillo, most recently the vice president for animal agriculture systems at the World Wildlife Fund, has been named head of the Department of Animal Science in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, effective Nov. 2.
October 27, 2020
Each November, members of the Penn State Poultry Science Club flock together to harvest turkeys for Thanksgiving. The birds are raised and cared for by students at the Poultry Education and Research Center beginning in July. The students sell the turkeys to the community on the Monday before Thanksgiving.
October 22, 2020
Penn State and Freiburg University are offering a public-facing, three-credit graduate course titled, “Global Perspectives in Integrated Pest and Pollinator Management.”
October 22, 2020
Novel grafted plants — consisting of rootstock epigenetically modified to “believe” it has been under stress — joined to an unmodified scion, or above-ground shoot, give rise to progeny that are more vigorous, productive and resilient than the parental plants.
October 21, 2020
Students in “PPEM 120: The Fungal Jungle” are meeting virtually for class, but that hasn’t stopped their professors from ensuring that popular hands-on activities — such as growing oyster mushrooms or enjoying a fungal feast — didn’t fall by the wayside.
October 20, 2020
Despite the state's first confirmed case of COVID-19 in a domestic cat, veterinary experts say residents should not be concerned about contracting the virus from pets and other domesticated animals. However, people with suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 should take precautions to protect the health of their pets.
October 15, 2020
Researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences have developed an important component of a new system that corn growers can use to adjust nitrogen fertilizer applications based on site-specific measurements of cover crops and soil organic matter.
October 14, 2020
A researcher in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences has received funding from the National Science Foundation to examine the genetic mechanisms that enable carnivorous plants to repurpose defense proteins to digest their insect prey.
October 14, 2020
Students in the international agriculture minor — commonly referred to as INTAG — in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences are learning more about global hunger by attending the 2020 World Food Prize Norman E. Borlaug International Symposium, which is taking place virtually this week.
October 13, 2020
Earlier this year, Krista Pontius, who earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural and extension education from Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, was named one of three 2020 National Teach Ag Champions.
